Insurance offer sweetens gig for Deliveroo drivers

Deliveroo workers will get insurance for injury or illness by paying £1.85 a weekRUI VIEIRA/PRESS ASSOCIATION

Deliveroo has tried to address criticism of how it treats its self-employed workers by offering them an income insurance policy that protects their pay if they get injured or fall ill.

The four-year-old fast-food delivery platform said that the policy, for which its scooter, motorbike and bicycle couriers would have to pay £1.85 a week, would provide cover when they suffered an injury while working for Deliveroo or when illness left them unable to work.

Deliveroo provides an online ordering platform and delivery service for branded restaurant chains including Nando’s, Pizza Express, Byron and Wagamama. It is regarded as one of Europe’s most promising private companies, but has attracted sustained criticism for contentious employment practices for its roughly 15,000 couriers in Britain.